New Year's Eve, known as “Chuxi” (除夕) in Chinese, is the last day of the lunar year in the Chinese calendar. It marks the end of the old lunar year and is usually celebrated with family. Families and communities engage in a variety of customs and activities that hold significant cultural meanings. Below are some common practices and the stories behind them.
Cleaning and decorating
The Chinese view the new year as a new beginning. Thus, it is essential to sweep away the remnants of the past year to ensure a better start. Even before New Year's Eve, families thoroughly clean their homes to dispel bad luck and make room for incoming good fortune. Following the cleaning, they decorate their homes with red lanterns, couplets, and other red decorations. In Chinese culture, red symbolizes good luck, happiness, and prosperity, making it the preferred color for major celebrations. This practice stems from the belief that a clean home attracts good fortune and that the new year should begin fresh.
Visitors choose Spring Festival decorations at this year's flower fair at One Avenue in Futian District. Liu Xudong
Pasting spring couplets
Once the rooms are cleaned, families attach spring couplets, or "chūn lián" (春联), to their doors, to create a joyful and festive atmosphere. These poetic verses, written on red paper, express hopes for prosperity, health, and happiness in the coming year. The red paper serves to ward off evil spirits, a concept linked to the legend of the monster Nian.
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The origins of spring couplets can be traced back over a thousand years, when people would hang written charms on peach wood known as "táo fú" (桃符) on their doors. According to legend, there was a massive peach tree in the ghost world, guarded by two sentinels named Shentu and Yulei. These guards would capture malevolent spirits and feed them to tigers, making all ghosts fear them. It was believed that hanging a piece of peach wood inscribed with the two guards' names on doorways could repel evil.
By the Song Dynasty (960-1279), people began writing auspicious antithetical lines on the peach wood instead of the guards' names. Eventually, the peach wood was replaced by red paper. Since then, pasting spring couplets has become a custom to welcome the new year and convey best wishes. In addition to spring couplets, other lucky symbols like Chinese knots and "Fu"(福) characters are hung throughout the home, as these decorations are believed to bring good fortune in the new year.
Offering sacrifices to ancestors
Ancestor worship is a deeply rooted tradition in China. Chinese people believe that although their ancestors have passed away, their spirits continue to exist and can influence the lives of their descendants. Therefore, they honor their ancestors on special occasions to seek blessings.
On New Year's Eve, many families visit their ancestors' graves and offer sacrifices before the reunion dinner, signifying that they are allowing their ancestors to "eat" first. Some families set up altars adorned with food and incense to honor their ancestors, inviting them to partake in the new year's celebration. This practice reflects the importance of filial piety and respect for one’s heritage.
Family reunion dinner
Similar to Christmas dinner in Western cultures, the new year reunion dinner holds significant meaning for Chinese families as it is a time for all family members to come together. This much-anticipated dinner is perhaps the most important part of the Spring Festival celebration. Families gather for a lavish meal that typically includes fish, dumplings, and other traditional dishes symbolizing good fortune and happiness.
The reunion dinner has a rich history dating back centuries, traditionally marking the end of the lunar year. Family members would reunite to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. This tradition emphasizes the importance of family bonds, with the shared meal symbolizing good fortune and blessings for the coming year.
Preparations for the reunion dinner often begin weeks in advance, with families meticulously planning the menu, as each dish holds symbolic significance deeply rooted in Chinese culture.
For example, fish is a must-have, as the pronunciation of the Chinese character for fish (鱼, yú) sounds the same as the character for surplus or abundance (余, yú). It is customary to leave some fish uneaten to symbolize annual surpluses. In some regions, the head and tail of the fish are not eaten until the beginning of the new year, symbolizing a wish for complete surplus throughout the year. Steamed fish is one of the most famous new year recipes.
Dumplings, which represent wealth and longevity, are another staple at the dinner table, especially popular in North China. They are often shaped like Chinese silver ingots, symbolizing the hope for financial prosperity in the coming year.
Chicken, a homophone for the Chinese character for good luck (吉, jí), is another welcome dish at reunion dinners. It is served whole — head and feet included — to symbolize unity and completeness, signifying a good beginning and end to the year.
Other symbolic foods include spring rolls, which symbolize wealth and new beginnings, and glutinous rice cake, representing a higher income or status in the coming year.
Staying up late
Staying up late on New Year's Eve, known as "shǒu suì" (守岁), symbolizes the desire to prolong the lives of one's parents or loved ones.
After the grand reunion dinner, family members gather to chat, play cards or mahjong, watch the Chinese New Year gala on television, or engage in family activities to welcome the new year. This occasion also serves as a time to reflect on the past year and welcome the future with hope.
Some believe that staying up late helps delay the aging process of elder family members, contributing to their longevity. Children should stay up as late as possible to send off the old year and welcome the new. However, as it can be challenging to stay awake all night, many families begin to abandon this tradition.
